ROLLA, Mo. – Keith Sponsler (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln East), who earned the top individual swimming honor from the Great Lakes Valley Conference during the 2014-15 season and went on to earn All-America honors, was named today to the Capital One Academic All-America team for the second consecutive year.

Sponsler, a first-team selection this season and a second-team pick a year ago, was selected as the "Swimmer of the Year" in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season before earning two All-America awards a month later.

A nuclear engineering major at Missouri S&T, Sponsler earned the GLVC's top individual honor this year after winning two events in school record fashion and was part of S&T's winning 800-yard freestyle relay team.

He recorded times of 44.16 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle and 1:36.57 in the 200-freestyle – the fifth-fastest in the nation during the regular season at the NCAA Division II level – and went on to place seventh in the latter event at the NCAA Division II Championships in March.

Sponsler has earned eight All-America awards during his first three seasons at S&T and has been part of eight winning performances at the GLVC Championships over the last two years.

With this award, Sponsler is the third S&T student-athlete to earn Academic All-America honors during the 2014-15 school year.  It is also the 81^st such award won by a Missouri S&T student-athlete and 57^th since 2000, the fifth-most of any school at the NCAA Division II level.  Sponsler's selection is the 12^th for the S&T swimming program.

The Capital One Academic All-America at-large team covers all sports that do not have a specific team for it.